Commercial transaction system, administration server, and program

ABSTRACT

A commerce system includes an EC server connecting to a user terminal and executes E-commerce, a customs clearance authentication server that administers pre-customs clearance information, and an administration server connected to the customs clearance authentication server and the EC server. The administration server receives a registration request including product information regarding a product, transmits the registration request to the customs clearance authentication server, receives pre-customs clearance information regarding the product from the customs clearance authentication server, and notifies the pre-customs clearance information to the EC server. The customs clearance authentication server generates pre-customs clearance information based on product information, in response to a request from the EC server, and transmits generated pre-customs clearance information to the administration server. The EC server transmits the received pre-customs clearance information along with product information to the user terminal, and accepts, from the user terminal, an instruction to circulate the product specified via customs.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a system for realizing logistics acrosseconomic zones.

BACKGROUND ART

Recent years have seen an increase in interest in using an EC(E-commerce; Electronic Commercial Transaction) site to performcommercial transaction operations across different countries (so-called“International EC”). Patent Document 1 discloses a logistics informationsystem for making customs work proceed smoothly while preventingfalsification of private imports. In the same system, first, if aproduct purchase has been secured on an EC site in response to a requestfrom a user, inspection of the product and calculation of tax rates isperformed on an intermediary agent terminal. The result of theinspection and information regarding the tax rate is transmitted to aserver, and billing information for payment of expenses to which useradministration and tariffs have been added is generated in the server.The billing information is transmitted to a user terminal and theintermediary agent terminal. Upon confirming payment made by the user,an intermediary agent dispatches the product and pays for tariffs onbehalf of the user.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1; JP 2013-235407A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In the system described in Patent Document 1, customs clearanceprocedures are performed after a product is purchased, and thus, thereare cases where it is determined that custom conditions have not beenmet ex post facto after the product has arrived at customs, for example.In this case, there is an increase in work on the customs side and thisbecomes a cause of delays in logistics. That is to say, in the techniquedescribed in Patent Document 1, despite the expectation that the burdenon the user regarding customs clearance work will be mitigated, there isroom for improvement in terms of making customs clearance processingsmoother.

An object of the present invention is to make customs clearanceprocessing smoother.

Solution to Problem

The present invention, in one aspect, includes an EC server thatconnects to a user terminal and executes E-commerce; a customs clearanceauthentication server that administers pre-customs clearanceinformation; and an administration server that is connected to thecustoms clearance authentication server and the EC server, wherein theadministration server includes: a means for generating a registrationrequest that includes product information regarding a product; a meansfor transmitting the registration request to the customs clearanceauthentication server; a means for receiving pre-customs clearanceinformation regarding the product from the customs clearanceauthentication server; and a means for notifying the pre-customsclearance information to the EC server, the customs clearanceauthentication server includes: a means for generating pre-customsclearance information based on the product information, in response to arequest from the EC server; and a means for transmitting the generatedpre-customs clearance information to the administration server, and theEC server includes: a means for transmitting the received pre-customsclearance information along with the product information to the userterminal; and a means for accepting, from the user terminal, aninstruction to circulate a product specified by the product informationvia customs.

The present invention, in another aspect, is an administration serverthat includes: an accepting means for receiving a registration requestthat includes product information regarding a product; a requestingmeans for transmitting the registration request to a customs clearanceauthentication apparatus; an acquiring means for acquiring pre-customsclearance information regarding the product, from the customs clearanceauthentication apparatus; and a notification means for notifying thepre-customs clearance information to a commercial transaction apparatusthat connects to a user terminal and executes E-commerce.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to make customsclearance processing smoother.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of commercial transaction system10.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of administrationserver 300.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of customsclearance authentication server 400 and customs terminal 800.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of EC server 200.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing exemplary operations of commercialtransaction system 10.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on userterminal 500.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, commercial transaction system 10 includes productadministration server 100, EC server 200, administration server 300,customs clearance authentication server 400, and user terminal 500.Administration server 300 connects to customs clearance authenticationserver 400 via second network 802, whereas administration server 300connects to EC server 200 and product administration server 100 viafirst network 801. First network 801 and second network 802 may be thesame communication network or different communication networks. Forexample, first network 801 may be the Internet and second network 802may be a VPN (Virtual Private Network).

Commercial transaction system 10 is a system for circulating productsbetween two economic zones (an economic zone being a country or otherregion that requires customs clearance processing when products come infrom another zone). Specifically, commercial transaction system 10 isfor a user (purchaser of product: hereinafter simply “user”) operatinguser terminal 500 to purchase a product through using a site that isbuilt by EC server 200 and run by a corporation established in X country(e.g., Japan) and delivering the product from warehouse 901 (e.g., ownedby a delivery company) in X country to delivery address 904 in A country(e.g., China). At this time, the product will pass through customs 903that is in A country. Note that when the product is exported from Xcountry, the product passes through customs in X country, but this hasbeen omitted from the diagrams. Also, the residence of the user may bein X country, A country or another country, and does not have to be thesame as the delivery address.

Also, even though only one EC server 200 is depicted in FIG. 1, theremay be a plurality of EC servers 200. Similarly, the place from whichthe products handled by commercial transaction system 10 are dispatched(warehouse 901) may exist at a plurality of locations in a plurality ofcountries. In this case, administration server 300 performsadministration regarding the logistics of products traded on all ECservers 200.

Transit point 902 is administered by a delivery company affiliated withadministration server 300 and is set up at a predetermined place in theX country. Administration server 300 is connected to transit point 902,and is provided with administration terminal 9021 that is operated by aworker, and administration of goods that have arrived at transit point902 is performed using administration terminal 9021. In the case wherethe delivery addresses for all of the products purchased via a websiteon EC server 200 are in A country, the products are initially deliveredfrom warehouse 901 to transit point 902 under the direction ofadministration server 300.

Customs 903 is administered by customs of A country or a correspondingauthority in A country that administers the import of articles, andcustoms 903 administers articles coming in to A country. Specifically,customs 903 examines whether or not articles are compatible with thecriteria of A country, and imposes predetermined tariffs as necessary.

User terminal 500 connects to EC server 200 and executes E-commerce.Hereinafter, E-commerce includes purchasing products (tangibleproducts), payment processing, and delivery of purchased products. Userterminal 500 is an information processing apparatus such as a personalcomputer, a smartphone or a mobile phone that accesses EC server 200 anddisplays a website built by EC server 200, and has a function oftransmitting an instruction to purchase or deliver a product to ECserver 200 based on an instruction input by the user.

Product administration server 100 is, for example, owned by a productmanufacturer or a product wholesaler, and is an apparatus that holdsinformation regarding products listed as products for sale on a websitebuilt by EC server 200. Specifically, product administration server 100stores information that identifies a product (an ID attached to eacharticle), a product name, a product category (“electrical appliance”,“washing machine”, and the like), place of origin, composition, productfunction, features, other detailed information about a product, andimages taken of a product (hereinafter collectively referred to as“product information”). Note that all or a part of the productinformation may be acquired or generated by administration server 300.In this case, product administration server 100 may be omitted fromcommercial transaction system 10.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of administrationserver 300. Administration server 300 is an information processingapparatus that supports registration processing (hereinafter“pre-customs clearance processing”) regarding customs clearance to beperformed at customs 903 in relation to products handled by EC server200. Specifically, administration server 300 includes firstcommunication unit 310, data processing unit 320, second communicationunit 330, storage unit 340, and delivery administration unit 350. Firstcommunication unit 310 is implemented as a communication interface fortransmitting and receiving information between product administrationserver 100 and EC server 200. Second communication unit 330 isimplemented as a communication interface for transmitting and receivinginformation with customs clearance authentication server 400.

First communication unit 310 includes accepting unit 311 andnotification unit 312. Accepting unit 311 receives a registrationrequest including product information from product administration server100. Notification unit 312 notifies pre-customs clearance informationacquired from customs clearance authentication server 400 to EC server200. The pre-customs clearance information may include at leastinformation indicating that pre-registration processing has beenperformed on customs clearance authentication server 400, and mayinclude a result of customs clearance processing(compliant/non-compliant), tariff rates and a monetary amount to beapplied to a product, information for calculating the tariff(information indicating a classification determined for each article (HScode), and the like), and other information related to customs clearanceprocessing.

Additionally, accepting unit 311 acquires order information from ECserver 200 every time a commercial transaction (product sales/purchasecontract) is established between EC server 200 and user terminal 500.The order information includes, out of product information regarding thetransaction target, at least a product ID, an ID identifying thepurchaser (a number that can uniquely specify an individual, forexample, My Number, a passport number, and the like), the deliveryaddress, and information indicating transaction content other than theidentification ID of EC server 200.

Data processing unit 320 is implemented as a processor and includestranslation processing unit 321, format conversion unit 322, andpre-inspection unit 323, and generates data required to request customsclearance authentication server 400 to perform pre-customs clearance,based on a request from administration server 300.

Pre-inspection unit 323 determines whether or not product informationacquired from product administration server 100 satisfies criteriarequired by customs 903. For example, in the case where customs 903requests information regarding predetermined characteristics about aproduct that has been permitted to circulate within the country oforigin, pre-inspection unit 323 performs confirmation as to whether ornot information items regarding such characteristics exist in theproduct information received from product administration server 100. Inthe case where it is determined that the criteria have not beensatisfied, format conversion unit 322 requests product administrationserver 100 to provide additional product information via notificationunit 312. Note that pre-inspection unit 323 may, in addition todetermining a lack of information items, determine whether or not thecontent of the information (for example, product size, weight,characteristics, applications, properties, etc.) satisfies the requestsof customs 903, and may, in the case where the requests are notsatisfied, provide notification that the product is noncompliant (inother words, that the product is a banned product) at customs 903 toproduct administration server 100, via notification unit 312.

Also, the functions of at least one of format conversion unit 322 andpre-inspection unit 323 may be realized by an apparatus (not shown) thatis connected to administration server 300.

In the case where pre-inspection unit 323 has determined that thecriteria have been satisfied, translation processing unit 321translates, when necessary, product information listed in the officiallanguage of X country into the official language of A country.Specifically, translation processing unit 321 performs machinetranslation processing in accordance with a predetermined translationalgorithm while referring to dictionary data stored in storage unit 340.Alternatively, translation processing unit 321 may be provided separatefrom administration server 300, and a request for translation of productinformation may be made to a dedicated translation server (not shown)via a connected network, and the translation result acquired.

Format conversion unit 322 edits the translated portion of productinformation obtained by translation processing unit 321 into aninformation format required by customs clearance authentication server400. For example, format conversion unit 322 deletes information itemsthat are not necessary, converts the information item name, andintegrates items.

Second communication unit 330 includes request unit 331, acquiring unit332, and tariff processing unit 333. Request unit 331 transmits apre-customs clearance request to customs clearance authentication server400. Additionally, request unit 331 transmits the order informationreceived from EC server 200 to customs clearance authentication server400. Acquiring unit 332 acquires, from customs clearance authenticationsever 400, pre-customs clearance information regarding a productreceived from product administration server 100. In response to arequest from customs clearance authentication server 400, tariffprocessing unit 333 sequentially or collectively performs paymentprocessing for tariffs with respect to products processed at customs903.

Storage unit 340 is a storage apparatus such as a hard disk or asemi-conductor memory, and stores a program for realizing the abovedescribed functions on administration server 300 when it is executed byan OS, or a processor. Pre-customs clearance information received fromcustoms clearance authentication server 400 is stored in associationwith the corresponding product information.

Delivery administration unit 350 is implemented as a processor, andextracts the required information from the order information acquiredfrom EC server 200, transmits the extracted information toadministration terminal 9021, and requests delivery processing.Specifically, at least the product ID and information regarding thesender (information including the purchaser's name and home address, andinformation regarding the delivery address (recipient's name and homeaddress) is transmitted, and in a preferable mode, the purchaser ID andthe EC website ID are additionally extracted. Of these pieces ofinformation, at least the product ID moves with the product by beingpackaged with the product, being attached to a packaging member of theproduct, or the like.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of customsclearance authentication server 400 and customs terminal 800. Customsclearance authentication server 400 includes communication unit 410,request processing unit 420, database 430, communication unit 490, andtariff processing unit 460, and generates pre-customs clearanceinformation in response to a request from administration server 300.Customs clearance authentication server 400 also checks products thathave arrived at customs, in response to a request from customs 903.

Communication unit 410 includes receiving unit 411 and transmission unit412, and is implemented as a communication interface for transmittingand receiving information between administration servers 300.Additionally, communication unit 410 acquires order information from anadministration server.

Receiving unit 411 receives a pre-customs clearance request included ininformation generated by data processing unit 320. Transmission unit 412transmits pre-customs clearance information generated by requestprocessing unit 420 to administration server 300. Also, transmissionunit 412 transmits a tariff payment request supplied from tariffprocessing unit 460 to administration server 300.

Request processing unit 420 includes compliance determining unit 421 andtax rate calculation unit 422, and is implemented as a processor. Inresponse to a request from administration server 300, compliancedetermining unit 421 generates pre-customs clearance information basedon product information included in the request. Specifically, compliancedetermining unit 421 accesses customs terminal 800 and transmits productinformation thereto, inquires as to whether or not the product has beencleared by customs 903, and stores the result of the inquiry in database430. In the case of the product being compliant, tax rate calculationunit 422 refers to the information stored in database 430 to determinethe tariff information (tariff and amount, or information required todecide a tariff (information regarding product classification such as aHS code)) regarding the product, with reference to the database storedin database 430. Then, information indicating that the product wascompliant with pre-customs clearance and the determined tariff areincluded in the pre-customs clearance information. Additionally,information such as the day of verification may be included in thepre-customs clearance information, for example. Note that in the casewhere it has been determined that a product is not compliant withcustoms clearance, information indicating noncompliance included in thepre-customs clearance information.

Database 430 is a storage apparatus such as a hard disk orsemi-conductor memory, and stores a program for operating the customsclearance authentication server 400, as well as information required todetermine compliance with customs clearance and information required tocalculate the tariff (for example, a correspondence table of tax amountsand classifications). Additionally, pre-customs clearance informationgenerated by request processing unit 420 is stored in database 430.

Communication unit 490 connects to customs terminal 800 and acquires,when necessary, information required to determine compliance of animport, and information required to calculate the tariff, from customsterminal 800.

Customs terminal 800 is a computer run by customs authorities, andcustoms staff process products that have arrived at customs 903, basedon information stored in this computer. Specifically, productidentifying unit 450 specifies products that have arrived at customs903. The product identifying unit 450 is implemented as an apparatusthat reads a barcode expressing a product ID that has been stuck to thepackaging of products, for example. Communication unit 820 transmits andreceives information to and from the customs clearance authenticationserver 400.

Customs clearance determining unit 440 refers to database 810 todetermine whether or not pre-customs clearance processing has beenperformed on a product. Specifically, customs clearance determining unit440 performs confirmation as to whether matching pre-customs clearanceinformation that includes a product ID that matches that of the productthat has arrived exists, and if such information does exist, customsclearance determining unit 440 extracts order information thatcorresponds to the product ID, and checks whether the ID is one that isalready registered in EC server 200. Additionally, customs clearancedetermining unit 440 checks the purchaser ID. For example, in the casewhere there are restrictions on the same purchaser bringing productsinto A country in the regulations of customs 903, confirmation isperformed as to whether or not these restrictions apply. When all of theabove-described checks have been cleared, information indicating thatcustoms clearance processing has been completed is stored, and theproduct is sorted by customs staff or an automatic conveying device (notshown) provided at customs 903 and is carried outside of customs anddelivered to a predetermined delivery address by a predetermineddelivery company. If the pre-customs clearance processing has not beenperformed, normal processing (inspection, tariff classification andtariff amount calculation, call-out notification to delivery address,and the like) is performed.

Tariff processing unit 460 refers to database 430 and makes a request toadministration server 300, via communication unit 412, that tariffs bepaid for all products for which there is information indicating that theproduct has been checked at customs 903. This request is collectivelymade for a plurality of products, for example.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of EC server 200.EC server 200 is administered by an operator that runs an EC(E-commerce) site. EC server 200 includes transaction execution unit210, storage unit 220, communication unit 230, storage unit 220, anddisplay control unit 240.

Storage unit 220 is a storage apparatus such as a hard disk or asemi-conductor memory, and stores a program for causing EC server 200 torealize the following function when it is executed by an OS or aprocessor. Apart from the program for realizing the functions of ECserver 200, storage unit 220 stores user information acquired from userterminal 500 (login ID, password, user identification ID, home address,name, etc., credit card payment information such as a credit cardnumber, and other information acquired in advance from the user in orderto use the EC site), information regarding the inventory of listedproducts, product information, pre-customs clearance informationreceived from administration server 300, and order information generatedby EC server 200 when a commercial transaction is established.

Display control unit 240 creates content to be displayed on a site basedon product information and pre-customs clearance information acquiredfrom administration server 300.

Communication unit 230 is implemented as a communication interface fortransmitting and receiving information to and from administration server300, user terminal 500, warehouse 901, and a credit administrationserver (not shown). Communication unit 230 receives product informationand pre-customs clearance information from administration server 300.Also, communication unit 230 provides content generated by displaycontrol unit 240 to user terminal 500 in response to a request made bythe user. Furthermore, communication unit 230 accepts an instructionfrom user terminal 500 to circulate a product specified by productinformation via customs 903. Specifically, when a product purchase and adelivery request to a delivery address designated by the user isaccepted from user terminal 500, this request is supplied to transactionexecution unit 210. Also, communication unit 230 transmits orderinformation generated by purchase processing unit 212 to administrationserver 300.

Transaction execution unit 210 is implemented as a processor andprocesses information regarding commercial transactions. Transactionexecution unit 210 includes payment processing unit 211 and purchaseprocessing unit 212. Payment processing unit 211 refers to storage unit220 and performs payment processing in relation to the purchase of aproduct. Specifically, payment processing unit 211 connects to anun-shown payment server by using information stored in storage unit 220,and withdraws the payment amount (product expenses, delivery expenses,commission for payment using EC server 200 and administration server300, tariffs, and the like) of the product from a bank account of theuser.

Purchase processing unit 212 generates order information for eachtransaction (for each purchased product) based on information acquiredfrom user terminal 500 and storage unit 220.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing exemplary operations of the commercialtransaction system 10. First, each EC server 200 that constitutes thecommercial transaction system 10 respectively transmits a correspondingEC server 200 ID to customs terminal 800 via administration sever 300and customs clearance authentication server 400, and thus each EC server200 is registered in advance in customs terminal 800. Also, it isassumed that the user has performed member registration in advance onthe EC site.

Product administration server 100 transmits product informationregarding a product that is to be listed on EC server 200 toadministration server 300 (S102). Administration server 300 checksproduct information (pre-inspection), performs translation processingand format conversion on the product information if necessary, andgenerates data for customs clearance authentication server 400 toreference (S104). The generated data is transmitted to customs clearanceauthentication server 400 included in a pre-customs clearance request(S106). When the pre-customs clearance request is received, customsclearance authentication server 400 accesses customs terminal 800 whennecessary, performs compliance with customs clearance and calculation ofthe tariff, and generates pre-customs clearance information (S108). Thegenerated pre-customs clearance information is stored in database 430and is also transmitted to administration server 300 from customsclearance authentication server 400 (S110). When the pre-customsclearance information is received from customs clearance authenticationserver 400, administration server 300 stores the pre-customs clearanceinformation in storage unit 340 (S112), and transfers the pre-customsclearance information to EC server 200 (S114). Thus the pre-customsclearance processing is completed.

EC server 200 generates content regarding a product based on acquiredproduct information (S116). An example of this content being displayedon user terminal 500 is shown in FIG. 6. In this example, a product ID,a product name, a price, and detailed information on the product areextracted from the product information acquired from administrationserver 300, and information indicating the tariff rate and whether ornot pre-customs clearance has been performed, which is acquired fromadministration server 300, is displayed. In FIG. 6, it is shown that theproduct specified by “01235” has undergone pre-customs clearanceprocessing in A country, and that a 5% tariff was added at purchase. Onthe other hand, it is shown that the product specified by “01234” hasundergone pre-customs clearance processing in A country, and that a 4%tariff was added at purchase.

Note that in the case where country A employs a taxation system in whichthe tariff amount (or rate) depends on the country of the purchaser orwarehouse 901, EC server 200 may, for instance, acquire informationregarding the country where user terminal 500 was located at the time oflogin, and display tariff information added in accordance with theabove-described taxation system.

Returning to FIG. 5, when a user who has accessed EC server 200 fromuser terminal 500 and confirmed a screen such as shown in FIG. 6,decides to purchase a product, he or she performs predeterminedoperations such as designating the product to be purchased and inputtingnecessary information such as a delivery address (S202). The inputinformation is transmitted to EC server 200 (S204). EC server 200generates order information based on the input information (S206). Theorder information is transmitted to administration server 300 andregistered in customs terminal 800 (S208). Administration server 300transmits information required for dispatch, based on the orderinformation, to dispatch terminal 9011 (S210). Thereafter, the productis delivered by a predetermined delivery company in X country fromwarehouse 901 to transit point 902, the product is checked byadministration terminal 9021 and customs terminal 800, and finally theproduct is delivered to delivery address 904.

According to the embodiment described above, the purchaser or receiverof the product, and the like is spared the time and effort of going tocustoms and carrying out custom procedures. Thus, customs clearanceprocessing is performed smoothly with no delays of logistics at customs.Also, when a product is purchased, it is virtually guaranteed to passthrough customs, and thus the user feels a sense of relief knowing thatthe product will definitely arrive. Furthermore, the user can comprehendthe tariff rate in advance when purchasing a product, and thus can thinkabout the product to be purchased while giving consideration to thetariff.

Commercial transaction system 10 is intended to support dispatch to aplurality of countries, and may include a plurality of customs 903 and aplurality of respectively corresponding customs clearance authenticationservers 400. In other words, one customs clearance authentication server400 is provided in each country (or each customs authority), andgenerates pre-customs clearance information for each customs authority.In this case, content created by EC server 200 includes information thatindicates at which customs pre-customs clearance has been completed,among a plurality of customs 903. The product information may beprovided to EC server 200 separately from pre-customs clearanceinformation. For example, the product information can be transmitteddirectly to EC server 200 from product administration server 100.

Also, the present invention is applicable in any form that involves acommercial transaction in which an article is circulated via a customsauthority, and the form of the transaction including the type of productfor transaction and the transfer of money is not limited to the examplesdescribed above. Note that it is sufficient that the customs is anorganization that monitors the movement of articles across two differenteconomic zones. The functions of administration server 300 may be splitand implemented by two or more apparatuses. That is to say, theadministration server of the present embodiment includes an acceptingmeans for receiving a registration request including product informationregarding a product, a requesting means for transmitting theregistration request to a customs clearance authentication apparatus; anacquiring means for acquiring pre-customs clearance informationregarding the product from the customs clearance authenticationapparatus; and a notification means for notifying the pre-customsclearance information to an E-commerce apparatus that connects to a userterminal and executes E-commerce.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

100 . . . Product administration server, 200 . . . EC Server, 300 . . .Administration server, 400 . . . Customs clearance authenticationserver, 500 . . . User terminal, 801 . . . First network, 802 . . .Second network, 901 . . . Warehouse, 902 . . . Transit point, 903 . . .Customs, 904 . . . Delivery address, 310 . . . First communication unit,311 . . . Accepting unit, 312 . . . Notification unit, 320 . . . Dataprocessing unit, 330 . . . Second communication unit, 331 . . . Requestunit, 332 . . . Acquiring unit, 350 . . . Delivery administration unit,340 . . . Storage unit, 333 . . . Tariff processing unit, 430 . . .Database, 420 . . . Request processing unit, 410 . . . Communicationunit, 411 . . . Receiving unit, 412 . . . Transmission unit, 421 . . .Compliance determining unit, 422 . . . Tax rate calculation, 460 . . .Tariff processing unit, 440 . . . Customs clearance determining unit,450 . . . Product identifying unit, 210 . . . Transaction executionunit, 220 . . . Storage unit, 211 . . . Payment processing unit, 212 . .. Purchase processing unit, 240 . . . Display control unit, 321 . . .Translation processing unit, 322 . . . Format conversion unit, 323 . . .Pre-inspection unit, 230 . . . Communication unit, 9011 . . . Dispatchterminal, 9021 . . . Administration terminal, 800 . . . Customsterminal.

What is claimed is: 1.-8. (canceled)
 9. A commerce system comprising: an EC server that connects to a user terminal and executes E-commerce; a customs clearance authentication server that administers pre-customs clearance information; and an administration server that is connected to the customs clearance authentication server and the EC server, wherein the administration server includes: a means for generating a registration request that includes product information regarding a product; a means for transmitting the registration request to the customs clearance authentication server; a means for receiving pre-customs clearance information regarding the product from the customs clearance authentication server, the pre-customs clearance information including information on a tariff; and a means for notifying the pre-customs clearance information to the EC server such that the pre-customs clearance information is displayed together with the product information on a site accessed by the user terminal, the customs clearance authentication server includes: a means for generating pre-customs clearance information based on the product information, in response to a request from the EC server; and a means for transmitting the generated pre-customs clearance information to the administration server, and the EC server includes: a means for transmitting the received pre-customs clearance information along with the product information to the user terminal; and a means for accepting, from the user terminal, an instruction to circulate a product specified by the product information via customs.
 10. An administration server comprising: an accepting means for receiving a registration request that includes product information regarding a product; a requesting means for transmitting the registration request to a customs clearance authentication apparatus; an acquiring means for acquiring pre-customs clearance information regarding the product, the pre-customs clearance information including information on a tariff, from the customs clearance authentication apparatus; and a notification means for notifying the pre-customs clearance information to a commercial transaction apparatus that connects to a user terminal and executes E-commerce such that the pre-customs clearance information is displayed together with the product information on a site accessed by the user terminal.
 11. The administration server according to claim 10, wherein the information for deciding the tariff that is to be applied to the product includes information regarding a delivery source of the product.
 12. The administration server according to any one of claim 10, wherein the product information is edited into a format required by the customs clearance authentication apparatus, and the edited product information is transmitted to the customs clearance authentication apparatus.
 13. The administration server according to claim 12, wherein the editing includes processing to translate a language in which the product information is described.
 14. The administration server according to any one of claim 10 further comprising: a means for determining whether the product information satisfies a criteria required by the customs clearance authentication apparatus; and a means for requesting, in a case where the criteria is not satisfied, additional information from a transmission source of the registration request.
 15. The administration server according to claim 10 wherein: the pre-customs clearance information is generated for each country, and the EC server determines a country in which the user terminal is located and notifies the pre-customs clearance information of the determined country to the user terminal.
 16. A program stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium for causing a computer to execute the steps of: receiving a registration request that includes product information regarding a product; transmitting the registration request to a customs clearance authentication apparatus; acquiring pre-customs clearance information regarding the product from the customs clearance authentication apparatus, the pre-customs clearance information including a tariff; and notifying the pre-customs clearance information to a commercial transaction apparatus that connects to a user terminal and executes E-commerce such that the pre-customs clearance information is displayed together with the product information on a site accessed by the user terminal. 